Chris Penn’s funnay brother from another, Jonah Hill, talked up his upcoming reincarnation of 21 Jump Street to MTV, mentioning that the flick has a part open for the show’s original cover boy Johnny Depp. Seeing Hill and Depp cutting up togeths on screen would not be un-rad in my estimation…
“We have an awesome thing for [Johnny] Depp, if he’ll do it,” Hill enthused. “I don’t know if he will or not, [but] it’s going to be rad!”
Hill also said that the cast to his 21JS will be chockful of famous funny types, but didn’t specify who. Cue Apatow mental flipbook. If you’re a dateless 8th grader reading this on [...]

Transformers 2 begins production next month in Pennsylvania, and one of the scenes is set to shoot in front of the iconic furnaces in south Bethlehem (shown above). The production will transform the old steel site into an Asian city during the first week of June. They are currently casting local ‘Asian men and women, boys and girls, ages 7 [to] 65” as paid extras in the movie, and are looking for people who have military backgrounds. Looks like big computer generated robots will battle the Chinese military in front of the blast furnaces. The Mayor has been assured that it will be ‘an important scene for this movie.’
Thanks to [...]

Are Michael Bay and 3D the new PB&J? A promotional PDF released by Dolby for this year’s ShoWest lists Transformers 2 under 2009’s 3D features alongside well known 3D flicks like AVATAR and Tintin. Bay hasn’t updated his blog to confirm or deny the announcement. Given the fact that the man eats Epic brand cereal morning, noon and night, and has the sizable task of topping his prior $319 million grossing robot deathmatch, who else thinks it’s a no-brainer?
The sequel starts principle photography on June 2nd in Pennsylvania, but obviously the looming SAG strike, which Bay recently ripped, could temporarily forfeit the mass destruction. Not sure if the ladies were [...]

Last month it was reported that Australian hottie Teresa Palmer had been cast in Michael Bay’s Transformers 2. Bay denies the casting on his personal blog, claiming that “Teresa Palmer was not considered for a role.”
To complicate things further, IGN is now reporting that another Aussie actress Isabel Lucas (pictured right), has been cast in the role of Alice in the sequel. Lucas is a newbie, and will be seen in the upcoming vampire flick Daybreakers, and the HBO miniseries The Pacific. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura promises that the big casting announcements will be made over the next several weeks.
“Ultimately, we’ll have a couple casting surprises for everybody soon,” [...]

Last week it was reported that Jonah Hill was in early negotiations to costar opposite Shia LaBeouf in Transformers 2. Entertainment Weekly is now reporting that negotiations between Hill and DreamWorks have broken down and the studio has moved on to other choices.
Supposed leaked casting breakdowns described the character as being Sam’s roommate at Princeton. Chuck (19-25 yrs) runs a conspiracy theory website and is funny in an irreverent, edgy way, he is shocked to see his conspiracy theories come to life.
Discuss: Knowing that the casting directors wanted Hill for the role, who would you cast as Hill’s replacement?

/Film reader S. McGruff informs us that Michael Bay will be filming sequences for Transformers 2 at the University of Pennsylvania:
I’ve been reading for a couple months and love the site. Not sure if this is newsworthy but you can decide. I’m a student at the University of Pennsylvania and a few of my friends involved in student government told me that Transformers 2 will be shooting on campus in one of the nicer fraternities this summer. Im guessing these scenes will involve Shia/Jonah at college. Michael Bay was also seen on campus a few weeks back, so I guess that sort of confirms that the film will be partially [...]

Teresa Palmer first entered our radar when she was rumored to be cast as Wonder Woman. It was later revealed that Palmer was actually cast as Batman baddie Talia al Ghu in the now defunct Justice League movie.
But now that the Australian actresses’ schedule is clear, the Courier Mail is reporting that Palmer has been cast in Michael Bay’s Transformers 2. Palmer recently starred opposite Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories. Bay also cast another Aussie, Rachael Taylor, in the original film. Earlier today it was reported that Jonah Hill is in early negotiations to costar opposite Shia LaBeouf in the sequel.

Jonah Hill is in early negotiations to costar opposite Shia LaBeouf in Transformers 2 according to EW. Hill would likely play the role of Sam’s college roommate Chuck.
[CHUCK] 19-25 yrs., Sam’s roommate at Princeton. He runs a conspiracy theory website. Funny in an irreverent, edgy way, he is shocked to see his conspiracy theories come to life. (2nd Lead)
But of course, Michael Bay claims the casting breakdown which leaked to the web earlier this month was actually misinformation. Yeah, right… I actually think Hill would make a perfect addition as Sam’s conspiracy theory obsessed friend.
Discuss: Does Jonah Hill belong in Transformers 2?

Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the /Film front page, or what we like to call…. Page 2!

Expect the first reviews of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Sunday May 18th at 6:30am-ish eastern time, as that is when press at Cannes will have seen the film. Domestic press will see the film later that afternoon/night at nationwide press screenings. [jeffwells]

Harland Williams will make the transition from acting to directing with “Wing Man“, a new $10 million dollar comedy. [moviehole]
5.5 million households added a high-definition television set to their furnishings for the first time during the period from last year’s holiday [...]

Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the /Film front page, or what we like to call…. Page 2!

Rob Zombie has updated his MySpace profile with a new image which reads “Tyrannosaurus Rex - 51% Motherf—er, 49% Son of a Bitch” which gives us a couple new clues to his next film.
Shock has new set photos from the upcoming adaptation of Twilight.
Transformers 2 is set to begin shooting on June 2nd 2008 (presumably in Philadelphia?). [tfw2005]
Nick Stoller has been hired to write and direct Get Him to the Greek for Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures. The film will star Jonah Hill as a fresh-out-of-college insurance adjuster [...]

Update: /Film Reader Chad has confirmed that the art is actually believed to be a fan creation, which was first posted on October 17th 2007.
Concept sketches of an alternative movie version of Optimus Prime complete with trailer attachment have shown up online. I love how the trailer combines with the cab/body when Optimus transforms into autobot form. Some are claiming that these concept sketches were unused ideas for the first film, while others claim they are potential ideas for Transformers 2. Considering the fact the images have remained online for a few hours, I’m guessing they fan creations. Either way I’m impressed. May-be Michael Bay leaked the photos to spread [...]

You’ve read about the casting breakdowns, constructicon rumors, and supposed treatment leaks, Transformers 2 director Michael Bay claims it was all fake.
“Sorry everyone, everything you are reading (other then we are shooting in Philly) is false,” Bay wrote on his website Shoot For the Edit. “We are going to give so much disinformation on this film to confuse everyone.”
Okay, so let me get this strait… Bay and company orchestrated this complex plan to release false information to the internet movie websites, and when everyone actually chomped down on the bait, he jumps out from around the corner and reveals it was all a scam to keep you out of the [...]

Screenrant has a report from a Star Trek panel this past weeknd at Creation Entertainment’s 16th Annual Grand Slam: The Sci-Fi Summitin Burbank, CA. Here are some highlights:

The movie will be rated PG-13 and have a budget “far below” $200 million. A $160 million price-tag has been floating around the web for months now.
The most interesting tidbit revealed a story (I had yet to hear) about of how JJ Abrams came onto the project. Apparently Steven Spielberg read the script and helped convince J.J. Abrams to sign on to the project. TrekMovie reports that Spielberg also visited the set during shooting scenes on the Enterprise and helped JJ Abrams work [...]

Transformers 2 is gearing up for it’s mid-Summer production start and IESB has a juicy rumor on the Decepticon line-up is… and trust me it’s HUGE, epic even….
Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook and Long Haul
That’s right… The six constructicons that combine to transform into the huge robot known as Devastator. Obviously, some of the names will have to be changed for the sequel, since they have already used the names in the first film. Names aside, how cool is that?
Robert also has a possible cast/character listing which includes Chuck, Sam’s funny conspiracy theory-obsessed roommate at Princeton, Professor Colan - Sam’s Physics teacher, a bunch of military personnel, the CEO of [...]

Has Transformers 2 begun location scouting?
It is revealed in an article in Mainline Today that Michael Bay’s big budget sequel has applied for tax incentives to shoot in and around Philadelphia starting in June. M Night Shyamalan’s big screen live action adaptation Avatar has also applied for the same incentives.